Here’s Why Twitter, Alphabet, Barrick, Goldcorp, and Newmont Mining Are Making Headlines

Traders are looking forward to today’s EIA report to confirm yesterday’s bullish API data that showed inventories in the U.S. fell by 7.6 million barrels last week. If WTI can punch through $50 per barrel and stay above it, the broader indexes could benefit from stock increases in the energy sector.

In this article, we’ll find out why two tech companies and three gold producers are in the spotlight today. Those companies are Twitter Inc (NYSE:TWTR), Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ:GOOGL), Barrick Gold Corporation (USA) (NYSE:ABX), Goldcorp Inc. (USA) (NYSE:GG), and Newmont Mining Corp (NYSE:NEM). We’ll also dig into SEC filings to determine how the smart money in our database collectively traded each stock in the second quarter.

Through extensive research, we determined that imitating some of the picks of hedge funds and other institutional investors can help generate market-beating returns over the long run. The key is to focus on the small-cap picks of these investors, since they are usually less followed by the broader market and are less price-efficient. Our backtests that covered the period between 1999 and 2012, showed that following the 15 most popular small-caps among hedge funds can help a retail investor beat the market by an average of 95 basis points per month (see the details here).

Traders are eagerly watching the price action surrounding Twitter Inc (NYSE:TWTR) after the Wall Street Journal reported that bids for the social media company might trickle in this week according to sources familiar with the talks. Among the interested parties potentially throwing their hat into the ring are the usual suspects of Alphabet (which is cash rich), salesforce.com, inc. (NYSE:CRM), and Walt Disney Co (NYSE:DIS). Various analysts have cautioned investors recently that the bid price might not be as high as the market seems to be expecting. If the potential bids this week fall flat, it’s possible that Twitter will opt to remain independent. If the bids exceed expectations, Twitter shares will likely surge. The number of funds in our system with holdings in Twitter Inc (NYSE:TWTR) rose by 3 during the second quarter to 30 at the end of June.

In addition to being in the spotlight for potentially bidding for Twitter, Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ:GOOGL) is trending due to the various new products that the internet giant introduced on Tuesday at a hardware event in San Francisco. As expected, Alphabet introduced Google Home, a home assistant designed to rival Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN)’s hit Echo product. Alphabet also introduced a new phone, ‘Pixel’, and the virtual reality headset Daydream View, which will cost just $79. If Alphabet’s phone and/or virtual reality headset takes off, the company’s EPS could grow meaningfully in the future. Ken Fisher‘s Fisher Asset Management is a big believer in Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ:GOOGL), as the fund held almost 1 million shares of the stock at the end of June, with the position accounting for 1.34% of the value of the fund’s public equity portfolio at that time.

On the next page, we’ll find out why Barrick Gold, Goldcorp, and Newmont Mining are trending.

Newmont Mining Corp (NYSE:NEM), Goldcorp Inc. (USA) (NYSE:GG), and Barrick Gold Corporation (USA) (NYSE:ABX) are in the spotlight after gold forward future prices fell hard on Tuesday, to considerably below the $1,300 per oz level. While no single factor accounted for the decline, gold prices likely fell sharply due to speculation that the era of ultra-accommodative central banks will soon come to an end, as the ECB is said to be considering tapering its quantitative easing measures by around 10 billion euros ($11.22 billion) a month, when the time comes.

With energy prices trending higher, deflation is less of an issue and potential inflation is more of a concern for many central bankers. Throw in expectations that U.S. interest rates might receive a hike in November or December, and it’s not hard to see why some traders might choose to lighten their position in the commodity, at least while there isn’t any geopolitical/market panic in the air.

Among the funds in our database, the smart money liked Barrick Gold Corporation (USA) (NYSE:ABX) the most, as 53 funds were long the stock at the end of the second quarter. Newmont Mining Corp (NYSE:NEM) was next in popularity, with 39 funds reporting stakes in the stock as of June 30. Lastly, 28 funds had a long position in Goldcorp Inc. (USA) (NYSE:GG) at the end of the second quarter, down by five funds from the end of the first quarter.

Disclosure: None